Mahindra bids for Aston Martin stake

That certainly appears to be the case in motoring circles. First Tata bought Jaguar Land Rover and now Mahindra is leading the bid to buy a stake Aston Martin.

Mahindra and Mahindra (as the company is officially known) is competing with Italian buyout firm Investindustrial for a stake in British sports car company, with the Economic Times newspaper quoting an unnamed source as saying “Mahindra has emerged as a frontrunner to become a strategic investor.”

“Discussions are still fluid. We are expecting the deal to get closed this week,” the report said.

James Bond's favourite car company is currently owned by Kuwait-based finance firm Investment Dar, which bought it from Ford five years ago.

But analysts say the global economic slowdown has affected its sales.

Mahindra is likely to pick up a 40 percent stake initially, but could raise its stake to 50 percent over the next four years, the report said.